Iceland dam project run aground and rusting! (for now)

Fantastic news about the project in Iceland!

The road building, dams and plans for mining in the area have all but put on hold by the the founders and funders of the (proposed) power plant project.

We’ve looked hard at this proposed project from different sides, and it just doesn’t pencil out. Seriously, and objectively. We have studied the (suggested) energy that would be produced and who would use it. Is it needed? What is the real cost of this “new” power? We’ve also looked at the short and long term economic impact to the region and this proposed project comes up very short.

Who exactly would benefit from this project? It’s a short list.

Who would be impacted (mostly negatively) by this project? It’s a long list with potentially (obviously) irreparable damage to the ecosystem.

Luckily, our work is helping the landowners and people of the West get better information so they can make the best decision about their future. Luckily, the legal system in Iceland favors land owners who might not otherwise have the resources to go up against big corporate resources. And luckily the “new world order” thanks to COVID, energy prices falling and maybe even some common sense MIGHT mean this project doesn’t even pencil out for those who would make a handsome short term profit from it going forward.

Yup, I said it: a silver lining of the world pandemic is that business as usual just can’t go on.

Let’s turn around and take a look at how things have been done and imagine a better way forward. We don’t need 1950’s thinking (dams) to solve our increased energy demands (does the West need more power anyway??). The Icelandic people that I have met are smart and resourceful and don’t need foreign interests (even me) to tell them what they need.